Existing conditions survey, measured in a single visit.
The survey that replaces two people with a laser measure and a clipboard. Captured on site, delivered as DWG, point cloud and walkthrough — with every dimension you forgot to take already in the file.
Price this yourself in the estimate calculator — no email required to see the number.
What it replaces
A two-person crew for a day and a half, plus a day of drafting, producing an approximation that someone drives back out to correct three weeks into design development.
Price this against billable design hours, not against a photographer. That comparison is the whole argument.
What makes it different from a field survey
- The point cloud captures conditions nobody thought to measure
- Irregular geometry — vaults, curves, split levels, exposed structure — costs no extra effort
- The record is re-measurable months later without a site visit
- Every dimension is consistent, because it came from one scan rather than a tired afternoon
Documentation-only package from $2,500. Most architecture clients skip the marketing media entirely.
What level of detail?
LOD 200 — proper wall thicknesses, exterior space records, labels, dimensions and area totals, on AIA standard layers.
What point cloud format?
DXF, which imports directly into AutoCAD and Revit without conversion.
We have a permit deadline.
Standard is 48–72 hours after capture. Tell us the date during scoping, and we will confirm in writing whether we can hit it.
Occupied building?
We work around occupants and can schedule after hours. Occupied space produces slightly more occlusion in the measured geometry — we flag it in the quote if it matters.
An existing conditions survey in one visit, because the alternative is four
The traditional existing-conditions process is a site visit with a tape and a laser distance meter, a set of field sketches, a week of drafting, and then — reliably — two or three return trips because somebody needs a dimension nobody thought to take. Every one of those trips costs a half day of a chargeable person plus coordination with whoever holds the keys.
A measured capture takes every dimension in the building simultaneously, whether or not anybody has thought of the question yet. When the question comes up in week three, it is answered from the capture instead of from a car.
What triggers one
A renovation or fit-out
The architect needs to design into a building whose drawings are either missing, wrong, or describe a version that stopped existing three tenants ago.
An acquisition
Verify what is actually there before the income assumption becomes yours. Rentable area is worth checking too.
A permit or code review
A jurisdiction wants current drawings of a building whose file predates the last two tenant improvements.
A loss or a claim
Documented condition on a known date, with dimensions. The forensic side is here.
What is in the package
- Dimensioned floor plan per level in DWG, on AIA standard layers.
- Plotted sheets in PDF, scaled and titled. Why you want both.
- Measured wall geometry in DXF, CAD-ready as an underlay to trace and snap to.
- Area calculations to the standard you specify.
- An interactive walkthrough of the whole building, so anyone reviewing the drawings can see the space the drawings describe — which is what stops the fourth site visit.
Reflected ceiling plans, exterior elevations, roof plans, site plans and a Revit model are add-ons, each priced on the published schedule.
Stated tolerance
About one centimeter on wall distances — roughly 0.5% on distance and 1% on area. That is the right tool for design, planning, pricing and area verification, and the wrong tool for fabrication tolerances or anything needing a surveyor's seal. We publish that rather than let you find out later, and the table of when to hire somebody else is here.
Phoenix metro. Anywhere within 35 miles of Gilbert — Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale, Peoria, Queen Creek and the rest of the Valley — carries no mobilization charge. Outside that, travel is quoted from the published zone table, and we work nationally.